Forever and Always
by FlubberyFlobberworms
Summary: Songfic to Parachute's Forever and Always, they own the lyrics in here, NOT ME. EWE ad Draco switches sides during the second Wizarding War. First story, would love any feedback :) Hope you lot enjoy!


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognise. Characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the lyrics(Italicised) are from the song 'Forever and Always' by Parachute. I just had the idea of making it into a Dramione.**

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_She's sitting at the table, the hours get later_  
_He was supposed to be here_  
_She's sure he would have called_

* * *

Hermione sat in her usual seat at the diner that Draco had asked to meet at. He'd sent her an owl while she was at work earlier that day asking if she wanted to eat out that night, to which she had happily obliged. It had been a long time since they had some privacy and gone out together. He had told her, however, that it was meant to be casual and that she did not need to dress up, for which she was extremely thankful as her work had ended later than expected and she definitely did not have time to doll up.

"Speaking of the time..," Hermione thought to herself as she took yet another glance to her wristwatch. _8.45p.m._ It had been more than half an hour since the time he had asked to meet and Draco himself was late!

"Pesky little ferret. Doesn't he know how to tell the time? Then again, he _is _blond..," she thought as she giggled to herself.

It wasn't unusual for Draco to be late for their dinners; Merlin knew that he was busy himself, what with the legal issues that had been dug up against his father's business (which he had inherited after Lucius' death in Azkaban) and preparations for the wedding. Hermione remembered their previous dates, where he'd been late as well, all due to his work. There was once where he was half an hour late and he'd come into the restaurant, panting and apologising profusely to an irate Hermione.

"He's never been this late though... It's been forty-five, no" She sighed as she looked at the time, "fifty minutes late! Surely he could afford to drop a message, at least.."

She checked her cellphone once more, confirming the fact that she had not a single call or message in the past hour. The Wizarding World had begun to incorporate some muggle ideas into their way of living. Many of the younger witches and wizards had handphones, magically altered of course, and used it only for emergencies since it was faster. They were much too used to owl mail to completely disregard it, though, and still used it as their main mode of communication.

* * *

_She waits a little longer, there's no one in the driveway_  
_No one's said they've seen him_  
_Why, is something wrong?_

* * *

"Ten more minutes," she thought to herself, "then I'll start calling him. After all, he's probably busy with his job and Merlin forbid anyone disturb him while he toils away."

That didn't stop Hermione from checking the driveway leading to the diner every few seconds, however.

"Ms Granger, is everything all right?" asked Helen, their usual server, "Would you like to order first?"

"Did Draco come in at all, Helen? Perhaps he left a message for me?" inquired Hermione.

"Oh, I'm afraid not.. He only owled in at about 4 o'clock to book your usual table, he didn't say anything else... I'm sorry," replied Helen regretfully, genuinely concerned for Hermione. "Did you call him?"

"Oh no, it's probably some worked that dragged a bit," smiled Hermione, "I'll just have a coffee while I wait, please."

"Sure!" Helen said as she turned to bring a cup of coffee for the witch.

Hermione couldn't ignore the ominous feeling in her stomach that it wasn't just 'some work that dragged a bit'.

She thanked Helen when she returned with her coffee and tried to put out that feeling with the piping hot drink.

* * *

_She looks back to the window_  
_Suddenly the phone rings_  
_A voice says something's happened_  
_That she should come right now_

* * *

As she continued staring out the window, searching for a trace of Draco, her phone vibrated.

"Finally!" she thought, hoping for some explanation from Draco on why he was an hour late. Upon checking her phone, however, it seemed that it was Ginny, not Draco, who was calling. Disappointed, she answered the call.

"Hullo Gin," said Hermione, dully.

"Hermione, where are you?" questioned Ginny in a urgent voice.

"I'm in the diner just off Reeg Alley, why? What's happened?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. Anyone using _that_ tone never meant anything good. Despite the fact that the war was over, there were still some Death Eaters around, swearing revenge against the light side and anyone who had helped them.

"Just come to St. Mungo's as soon as possible."

"Ginny, just tell me what's wrong!"

"Please, Hermione, just come!"

"O-Okay, Gin. But do you know where's Draco? He asked me to meet here for dinner and I've been waiting all this time.. I should tell him that I'm not going to - " Hermione stopped halfway as she heard Ginny qive off an anguished sob.

"He's here, Mione, I don't know what happened but the Death Eaters.. Just.. Just get here NOW," ordered Ginny, cutting off the call.

Hermione's eyes widened as a myriad of images of a bloody or, even worse, _dead_ Draco lying lifelessly on a hospital bed at St. Mungo's

"This cannot be happening right now. What if- no. He will be fine. Draco will be okay," Hermione told herself resolutely.

Dropping a few sickles on the table, Hermione stood up shakily, gathered her things and walked briskly toward the door of the diner.

* * *

_Her mind goes to December_  
_She thinks of when he asked her_  
_He bent down on his knees first_  
_And he said_

_I want you forever, forever and always_  
_Through the good and the bad and the ugly_  
_We'll grow old together_  
_Forever and always_

* * *

As she pushed open the door, light caught on her engagement ring and she remembered that day, when Draco had proposed to her.

_It had been about six or seven months, in this very diner. He had told her to dress up a bit and brought her here, where the entire diner had looked amazing. He had paid for the diner to be spruced up and it looked and felt a lot more posh and elegant than the usual casual atmosphere that filled the place. Furthermore, all of their friends and their family were gathered there as well and all of them had dinner together._

_She had felt as though she was missing something, like everyone was looking at her strangely. The females were sighing and smiling a lot and the males seemed more...strict? She wasn't sure, but everyone was definitely being strange._

_When she turned to Draco after dinner to ask about it, she found him kneeling on the floor holding out the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. She was so shocked that she missed most of his speech, but managed to get at least the last bit:_

_"I want to be with you every single day of my life, through all the ups and downs. I want us to grow old, have grandchildren and for you to teach all of them the proper treatment of house elves. I want us to be together, forever and always. Hermione Jean Granger, will you allow me the honour of being your husband?"_

"Nothing will happen to him. We will get married. We will grow old together. It will be fine."

And with that last thought, she apparated into St. Mungo's.

* * *

_She pulls up to the entrance_  
_She walks right to the front desk_  
_They lead her down a million halls, a maze that's never ending_  
_They talk about what happened but she can barely hear them_  
_She tries to keep a straight face as she walks into the room_

* * *

The welcome witch isn't her usual laid back self and that sends Hermione into another whirlpool of 'What ifs'. She somehow managed to ask for Draco, and immediately, two healers walked up to her and start explaining the situation to her as they lead her to the emergency ward that had been constructed during the second Wizarding War to accomodate to the large number of people who got injured. It was still in use now, due to the various attacks and break outs of tussles by Death Eater activists.

Hermione hears various bits and pieces of their recount; 'Death Eaters', 'outnumbered', 'no way he could defend himself', 'dark spells' but the word which caught her attention was, 'sectumsempra'.

"Sectumsempra? He was hit with Sectumsempra? Surely you can heal it, it's just cuts, right?" asked Hermione frantically.

"Oh, no, ma'am. It's a slight modification of the curse. It's been engineered in such a way that the normal healing spells don't work on it, dittany has absolutely no effect on it and, after thorough checks, it appears that Mr Malfoy's body is actually running as per normal, except for the fact that he's cut up," replied one one of the healers.

"What about a blood replenishing potion? He coul-" but the other healer cut her off.

"We tried that, Ms Granger, but the potion just flows out together with the blood and..we have absolutely no idea what to do! The spell left no trace, Mr Malfoy cannot recall the incantation and, frankly, we're at a loss."

The fact that Draco was going to leave her _forever_ hit her like a ton of bricks.

"B-But.. I'm sure you can find _something_ out! There HAS to be a solution! You can't just let him d-die?" she pleaded.

The healers exchanged a pitiful look. The relationship between Hermione and Draco was very well known, seeing as how they had been arch enemies in school and then on opposing sides of the war. At the last minute, however, Draco had turned his back on the dark side and fought for the light instead, which had helped the light side immensely as no one on Voldemort's side knew that he had switched sides and all of them did not attack him, while he was free to bring them down. The engagement between the war heroine and the ex-Death Eater had been the talk of the Wizarding World for about two months since it happened.

"We're doing our best to find any solution at all, Ms Granger, we can tell you that," they tried to assure her, "Here's the ward."

Hermione tried to make her expression devoid of fear and her real feelings as she stepped into the achingly white room, everyone gathered there turned to look at her with sombre expressions.

And Draco, lying on the hospital bed, paler than usual and blood stains everywhere, hooked up to machines that ran on magic.

* * *

_She sits by his bedside, holds his hand too tight_  
_They talk about the kids they're gonna have and the good life_  
_The house on the hillside, where they would stay_

_Stay there forever, forever and always_  
_Through the good and the bad and the ugly_  
_We'll grow old together, and always remember_  
_Whether rich or for poor or for better_  
_We'll still love each other, forever and always_

* * *

Slowly, she made her way to his bed, and took his hand in her own, squeezing it.

"Draco?" she called her voice barely above a whisper.

He smiled slightly, as though stretching his lips more would hurt him, and turns his head to face her, "Mione.."

"Draco, you'll be okay, you hear me? The healers are doing everything they can to save you. We'll get through this, get married, have children and make our own home out of the Manor and _everything_. We'll live together, without a single house-elf, crookshanks will annoy you and we'll bite each other's head off over the smallest things and we'll love each other. We'll be together, Draco, forever and _always_," said Hermione. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself.

His entire torso was covered in wounds that were bleeding through his office robes, it was obvious that sectumsempra had been the root spell, Hermione recognised it from what Harry had explained to her in their sixth year at Hogwarts. Lying on his bedside table, was a blood-stained bouquet of small sunflowers.

"Were those... Did you buy them?" Hermione asked Draco softly.

Nodding weakly, "Was about fifteen minutes late.. Had to pacify you somehow," he grinned as he continued, "walked out the store and 'bout five of them started 'tacking me..dunno how they foun' ou' where I was.. couldn't do 'nything and...and suddenly there was pain all over an' I fell, but they stopped" he slurred as he tried to tell her what happened.

"That's how I found him." Everyone's heads turned to Ginny.

"I was walking down that street after work and he was just slumped on the ground and..and a pool of blood beginning to form. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't carry him on my own so I called Harry and we brought him to St. Mungo's as quick as we could. I don't know where all the Death Eaters went, I think they just left him once they knew that they caused enough damage."

* * *

_Then she gets an idea and calls in the nurses_  
_Brings up the chaplain and he says a couple verses_  
_She borrows some rings from the couple next door_  
_Everybody's laughing as the tears fall on the floor_

* * *

She knew how happy he was, that he was going to live a life so different from what he had been forced to live all through his childhood. He'd been elated that she, The Hermione Granger, had agreed to marry him, giving him another chance to live. Seeing how rigid and loveless his parents' married life had been had made him so afraid that one day, he'd have to live like that, too.

But since _she _had agreed, he was so much happier and Hermione knew that it was the one thing he was looking forward to the most; having a happy married life with the witch he loved.

And she couldn't believe he was about to die before even experiencing it. Hermione had to do something.

And something she did.

Letting go of Draco's hand, she turned to Percy and exchanged some words with him, silently begging him to agree with her eyes and he, too, nodded his head firmly.

Next, she went to Molly and Arthur, and asked them something.

"Oh, of course, sweetheart!" cried Molly, surprising everyone else in the room as both of them slipped off their wedding rings and handed them to her.

"Thank you," replied Hermione, giving them both a watery smile.

She turned back to Draco, kneeled beside his bed and nodded at Percy.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, everyone who has gathered here will bear witness to the holy matrimony of Mr Draco Lucius Malfoy and Ms Hermione Jean Granger..."

Draco looked at Hermione in surprise and she smiled back at him, eyes filled with unshed tears, "Just go with it, love."

* * *

_She looks into his eyes, and she says_

_I want you forever, forever and always_  
_Through the good and the bad and the ugly_  
_We'll grow old together, and always remember_  
_Whether happy or sad or whatever_  
_We'll still love each other, forever and always_

* * *

Hermione smiled and looked into Dracy grey eyes as she said her vows, that she come up with on her own for their real wedding.

Percy continued with his speech and then looked to Draco expectantly.

Hermione did her best to blatantly ignore the beeps of the heartbeat sensing machine that were constantly slowing down.

"Draco, please," begged Hermione, "Say your vows, for me, _please_."

* * *

_She finishes the vows but the beeps are getting too slow_  
_His voice is almost too low_

* * *

Draco looked straight into Hermione's eyes, his grey and her brown eyes both shining with the love they had for each other.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, and he parted his lips,

_As he says, I love you forever, forever and always_  
_Please just remember even if I'm not there_  
_I'll always love you, forever and always_

xxx

**Here is my very first fanfic and Dramione piece at that! I've had this idea in my head ever since I first heard this song (it made me cry so hard, I'm not kidding. Have a listen to it and just imagine the scenes while the song plays; it's heartbreaking.) but refused to write it until I finished my 'O'-levels. I really hope I did this justice! Dramione is probably my favourite pairing and I'd love to know how I faired :) Any and all feedback is very much appreciated, thank you in advance!**

**- FlubberyFlobberworms**


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